Education Cluster -Sub-National Co-Coordinator

Syrian Arab RepublicEducation Cluster -Sub-National Co-CoordinatorOrganizationSave the ChildrenPosted 18 Nov 2025 Closing date 1 Dec 2025JOB TITLE: Education Cluster -Sub-National Co-CoordinatorTEAM/PROGRAMME: EducationLOCATION: One coordinator in QameshlyGRADE: 2POST TYPE: Fixed term – 1 yearChild SafeguardingLevel 3 – the responsibilities of the post may require the post holder to have regular contact with or access to children or young peopleRole PurposeThe cluster approach ensures clear leadership, predictability and accountability in international responses to humanitarian emergencies by clarifying the division of labour among organizations and better defining their roles and responsibilities within the different sectors of the response. It aims to make the international humanitarian community better organised and more accountable and professional, so that it can be a better partner for the affected people, host governments, local authorities, local civil society and resourcing partners.The humanitarian response in Syria is carried out through multiple response centres with their own coordination bodies. The Whole of Syria (WoS) coordination architecture is the body that is overall responsible for ensuring coherence and a principled response across these centres. The post holder is the WoS Education Sector Co-Lead who along with the UNICEF Education Sector WoS Co-Lead supports a relevant, coordinated, timely and accountable education response inside Syria. The WoS Education Cluster Co-Lead will support the coordination of any eventual hubs and work closely with the Unicef Co-lead and the WoS Information Management Officer.Scope Of RoleReports to: Director of Impact and Influence, Syria Response OfficeStaff reporting to this post: None. This post holder is responsible for ensuring collaboration and cooperation between people through matrix management and coordination when with other agencies.Budget Responsibilities: TBDKey Areas Of AccountabilityRepresentation duties as Syria Education Cluster Co-Lead will be coordinated with the UNICEF Syria Co-lead and follow guidance from the Save the Children Syria SMTEducationThe post holder has joint responsibility for the functioning of the Education Sector at sub-national level with the UNICEF- Co-Lead, by supporting the coordination mechanisms of the sub-national response areas in Syria landscape for the efficient management and functioning of a humanitarian education response, encompassing the following:Support, promote and maintain an appropriate humanitarian coordination mechanismStrengthen pre-existing sectoral coordination and response modalities through increased relevance, predictability and accountabilityPromote strategically and technically sound, evidence-based planning and responses that put the populations needs, preferences and priorities at the centre of the response. Promote responses that are relevant to a protracted crisis emphasising early recovery approaches that address humanitarian education needs while laying foundations for post-conflict recovery.At the sub-nationalcountry level and be responsible for all facets of the humanitarian program cycle including production of the humanitarian needs overview, humanitarian response plan and related reporting; No Lost Generation workstreams; contingency, preparedness and emergency planning; and all related reporting.Provide ongoing technical support to the coordination units within the response centres and provide gap-filling as needed.Facilitate evidence based advocacy on safe access to education and the stopping attacks on education.Promote adequate resource mobilization and advocate for resources that enable quality education and continuity of services. Advocacy efforts target humanitarian and development actors including donors.Proactively work with other sectors to promote cross-sector collaboration.Working closely with the Education Sector lead (Minister of Education) and Co-lead UNICEF and other education working-groups and information managers, to ensure a technically sound, strategic, coherent humanitarian education response at sub-national level of Syria response areas.In line with the INEE Minimum Standards, Sphere, and other relevant guidance facilitate the use of best-practices and the harmonization of standards across theSyria response; in collaboration with Education Sector lead and the Global Education cluster ensure rigorous needs and severity analysis.Foster effective cooperation, collaboration, communication, reporting, engagement and coordination between Education Sector and the sub-national response areas and between education and other sectors within the sub-national level.Facilitate weekly and ad hoc meetings across the assigned sub-national response areasWoek closely with Sector lead to develop key advocacy messages for key audiences including safe access to education, access to quality education, predictable and continuous access to education services, early recovery approaches to the humanitarian education response, aligning responses to the priorities and preference of the effected population,Facilitate and support the development of capacities and abilities and localization initiatives across the assigned sub-national response areas.Effective and comprehensive integration of relevant cross-cutting issues, including equable access, age, gender and disability.Maintain flexibility within the humanitarian education response to respond to changes in the operating environment, evolving requirements, capacities and participation, changing needs and changing availability of funding.Effectively use and transfer information to, from and between Sub-national Clusters/Sector/Working-groupInteract with other sectors, humanitarian, development and stabilization actors, government counterparts, and relevant authorities for operational planning, engagement and active contribution of operational members as represented by the coordination leadership at the sub-national response level.Monitor performance of the core sub-national cluster functions and support course correction, learning from lessons and the replication of successful practices.Promote strategic, technically sound, evidence and needs based response planning across the assigned sub-national response areas, in coordination with Sector lead team.Work closely with Sector lead team to support the development of annual Humanitarian Needs Overviews (HNO) and Humanitarian Response Plans (HRP), ad hoc planning documents and related reporting.Provide briefings and informational packages to sub-national cluster members, Sector lead team, donors and others that promote evidence-based, technically appropriate and people-centred, planning and programming and need based funding.Support the conceptualization and actualization of Save the Children and UNICEF funding for developing the capacity of Cluster/Sector/Working-Group members and for promoting localization.Contribute towards developing related TORs and workplans, reviewing progress reports and upward reporting requirements.Syria CoordinationSyria Strategic LeadershipMember Capacity DevelopmentThe post holder is accountable to:The Director of Impact and Influence (direct line management); and indirectly to the UNCEF Sector lead. Together these senior positions will ensure that the post holder and her/his Unicef Co-lead counterpart at sub-national assigned areas are provided with all necessary support and guidance to deliver agreed minimum commitment as outlined by the IASC and Syria-specific commitment .Education Cluster/Sector/Working-group coordination team members, who will in turn support the post holder in line with their terms of referenceInter-cluster coordination bodies established by the HCT/HST/UNOCHAAffected populations through agreed mechanismsAccountability to the country representative/Sector coordinator, Sector/sub-national cluster participants, coordination team members and inter-cluster coordination bodies will be expressed in regular review meetings.Additional Job ResponsibilitiesThe duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.AccountabilitySKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS (our Values in Practice)Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children valuesHolds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achievedAmbitionSets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the sameFuture orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scaleCollaborationApproachable, good listener, easy to talk to; builds and maintains effective relationships with colleagues, Members and external partners and supportersValues diversity and different people’s perspectives, able to work cross-culturally.CreativityDevelops and encourages new and innovative solutionsIntegrityHonest, encourages openness and transparency, builds trust and confidenceDisplays consistent excellent judgementRequiredQUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE AND ATTRIBUTESSignificant experience in leadership, advisor and coordination roles, including direct experience in education Cluster, Sector or Working Group.Experience of developing and negotiating successful partnerships with institutional donorsSignificant experience producing HNO (chapters and severity scales) and HRP documents and related reportingUniversity degree level (Masters preferred) in a relevant subject or equivalent field experience.Experience in child friendly data collection preferred.Experience in conducting and coordinating humanitarian assessments and conducting needs analysis that articulates the priroties of a needs-based response.Experience of contextualizing and rolling out relevant interagency humanitarian frameworks and standards in education in emergencies (for example INEE Minimum Standards)Demonstrated strong monitoring and evaluation skills, including planning/participating in evaluations.Experience in strategic planning and coordination of strategy developmentExperience of representation and ability to represent Save the Children effectively in external forums.Ability to write and present information clearlyAbility to explain technical concepts/information in a non-technical manager.Prior experience developing EiE intervention strategies, contextualized EiE standards and guides and related capacity building and experience in addressing education needs within a protracted crisis and promoting early recovery approaches that better enable future post-conflict eduction investmentsExperience in preserving the humanitarian nature of a humanitarian education response within a highly politicalized operating environment.Experience of representation and ability to represent the Education sector effectively in external forums.Experience of working with and supporting local partners and localization commitmentsDemonstrates commitment to and abilitiy to protect Humanitarian PrinciplesDemonstrates commitment to and abiltiy to promote Principles of PartnershipVery good knowledge and experience in data analysis and producing effective information materials/presentations.Excellent advocacy related communication and influencing skillsProven ability to maintain cooperative relationships with and between people outside of ones management line. Politically and culturally sensitive with qualities of patience, tact and diplomacy.The capacity and willingness to be extremely flexible and accommodating in difficult and sometimes insecure working circumstances.Commitment to the aims and principles of Save the Children. In particular, a good understanding of the Save the Children mandate and child focus and an ability to ensure this continues to underpin our support.DesirableLanguage skills in Arabic and Kurdish.Experience working on humanitarian responses for protected crisis, working within a highly poltizied and fratured operational theatre, working within direct implementation, implementation through partners and remote-managed modalities and working in the Middle East.Training in cluster coordinationHow to applyhttps://hcri.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com:443/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/job/13443?utm_medium=jobboardJob detailsCountrySyrian Arab RepublicSourceSave the ChildrenTypeJobCareer categoryProgram/Project ManagementYears of experience5-9 yearsThemeEducationShare Share this on Facebook Share this on X Post this on LinkedIn